Synopsis
When good luck is a long shot, you have to hedge your bets.
A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.
1996 Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.
Philip Baker Hall John C. Reilly Gwyneth Paltrow Samuel L. Jackson F. William Parker Philip Seymour Hoffman Nathanael Cooper Wynn White Robert Ridgely Kathleen Campbell Michael J. Rowe Peter D'Allesandro Steve Blane Xaleese Melora Walters Jean Langer Andy Breen Renee Breen Jane W. Brimmer Mark Finizza Richard Gross Cliff Keeley Carrie McVey Truman Robbins Ernie Anderson Wendy Weidman Jake Cross
Paula Fairfield Daniel Pellerin Tim O'Connell John Sievert John Brasher Marty Hutcherson Doug Reed Virginia Storey Richard King Eric Hoeschen Todd Beckett Carlos Isais Casey Stone Mark Weingarten Jeffrey R. Payne
Double mise, Tvrdá osma, Sydney, Hard Eight, Sidney, 리노의 도박사, Роковая восьмерка, Sydney: juego, prostitución y muerte, Vivir del azar, Jogada de Risco, Passado Sangrento, ハードエイト, Teška osmica, Last Exit Reno, Hard eight, Sidney (Hard Eight), A szerencse zsoldosai, 赌城纵横, שמונה חזק, Сидни, Sėkmės aštuntukas, Gambler, Ryzykant, กลเกมอำมหิต
Watching this on the heels of Phantom Thread (PTA's eighth film!) highlights how cleanly you can separate his career into equal Early and Later halves. Both films are shining examples of the early and late Anderson. Hard Eight has emotional man-children reaching out for family, swooping camera moves and zooming close-ups, rich, almost lurid colors, and a Jon Brion score. PTA carried those stylistic and thematic elements with him while making Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love. Something happened to PTA between the making of PDL and There Will Be Blood (something that I would like him to open up about at some point), and his last four films contain things that Phantom Thread exemplifies in spades: repressed, emotionally-reticent…
philip seymour hoffman gives one of the finest & most singular single scene performances ever
Let's talk about titles. Hard Eight vs. Sydney. As a lot of people know, Sydney was PTA's chosen title for a film about, well, a guy named Sydney. Fair enough, and admirable in its simplicity. However, this being his first feature, the story goes that, in order for greater control over the final cut, PTA compromised on the title, allowing the film to be released as Hard Eight. I'd certainly not argue that making a film is much like having a baby, and being forced to compromise any aspect of it is akin to having the hospital get naming rights of your child. But, sometimes good things come out of bad situations, and not only did we get a better…
This is the start. The start of one of the greatest track-records of any filmmaker. The absolute visionary and master who is Paul Thomas Anderson. Many cite Hard Eight (Sydney) as PTA's weakest film, and I have to disagree. Hard Eight may be more low key, less flashy and solemn in tone; but the layers of dread, mystery and danger make this one of Paul Thomas Anderson's finest achievements.
The Awesome: Phillip Baker Hall. This is his movie. Sure, he was great in Magnolia; but he is the star of the show here. Cold, calculating and charming; the viewer never knows what this character is up to. Until the very end. Another charm of Hard Eight is that it's the…
I just learned that Paul Thomas Anderson was 24 when he made this and almost gave it one star out of spite.
there's already a real voice here, a richness of idiosyncracy, achy & showy, eager to impress. trying to pull his shit together.
An exceptional debut from a filmmaker who was clearly a master of the art from the very beginning.
A great first feature film from who is one of the best director's of all-time. Before seeing John C. Reilly in Magnolia, I honestly never knew he could really act. He was damn good in this film too.
ok now I’ve seen them all. Philip Baker Hall runs away with this, duh. I was gonna write something pithy like “they don’t make movies that are just about, like, a guy anymore,” but then I remembered Mank. I love Gwyneth’s late 90s run!
Man, Samuel L. Jackson and Paul Thomas Anderson really need to make another movie together. (Ditto for John C. Reilly, come to think of it, even if he did have a cameo in Licorice Pizza.)
This holds up pretty well, even if it does feel more like a collection of David Mamet and Scorsese quotations than it did when it came out (mostly because in 1996, I hadn’t seen much Mamet or Scorsese). The opening sequence is still the best, with the great Philip Baker Hall taking Reilly under his wing and showing him the difference between playing a casino and playing at a casino. I wonder what would happen if you tried that scam in Reno in 2022...
Really,…